Posing with fans on the streets of New York, Michael Strahan is a king in this city of stars. A Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants, he just took his celebrity to another level when he was named co-host of "Live! With Kelly And Michael."
The national spotlight is a world away from Strahan's childhood in Houston.
"When I was at Westbury, I was that quiet kid, the one who was an out-of-towner because I came back to Houston from Germany. But I had to figure out a quick way to fit in, and then from there to Texas Southern University, which was an incredible, incredible experience for me," Strahan said.
We visited Strahan's mom in Spring to get the scoop on her superstar son.
"Mom will tell you that I'm the perfect child," Strahan joked.
"He was never the one to pick a fight," his mother, Louise Strahan said.
The youngest of six kids, Strahan played football at Westbury High School.
"We really never had any problems with him, he never started a fight or anything. But if you do something to him, one day you can look for him to get you back," she said.
That determination paid off. Strahan would go on to a hugely successful career with the New York Giants, and since 2008, he's been an NFL commentator.
But nothing could prepare him for this: Filling in after Regis Philbin retired, Strahan was a natural, and everyone noticed.
"He's extraordinary on the air, that's obvious, that doesn't need to be said. His likeability is so apparent, he's good at everything, he's a great story teller, he has a great history," Strahan's co-host, Kelly Ripa, said.
"Every time he smiles you get that warm, cuddly feeling," said Michael Gelman, the executive producer of the show. "He's commanding and so confident he's willing to take risks, and that's what you need. You someone who's all in."
But no matter who he's rubbing elbows with, his biggest fan will always be his mom, for whom he bought a new house in Spring.
"What does it feel like to buy your mom a house?" we asked him.
"Incredible. When you're a kid, you say mom, one day I'm going to buy you a house. And then one day to say, go pick your house. For her to go find it, and say OK, it's yours, here you go, here are the keys," Strahan said.
"You don't need this much space! Unless you're having a family dinner, and then you need this space and then some," his mother said.
Strahan says family is what it's all about.
"When I go home now and I see trophies there and I see Giants helmets, and I see stuff that most guys would probably keep for themselves -- it wasn't really for me that I did everything, it was for my family and I'm happy I could just make my parents proud," he said.
Mission accomplished.
